adjective
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limited; barely enough; meagre
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insufficient; inadequate
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lacking fullness; small
Related Words
Scanty, meager, sparse refer to insufficiency or deficiency in quantity, number, etc. Scanty denotes smallness or insufficiency of quantity, number, supply, etc.: a scanty supply of food. Meager indicates that something is poor, stinted, or inadequate: meager fare; a meager income. Sparse applies particularly to that which grows thinly or is thinly strewn or sown, often over a wide area: sparse vegetation; a sparse population.
Other Word Forms
- scantily adverb
- scantiness noun
- unscanty adjective
Etymology
Origin of scanty
First recorded in 1650–60; scant + -y 1; scanty ( def. 4 ) blend of scanty and panties
Explanation
We refer to an amount or thing that is not quite enough as scanty, or lacking. It's an adjective used to describe something that doesn't offer enough, as in "farmers having a scanty crop in a drought year." The adjective scanty comes from the Old Norse scamt, which means "short or brief," and so suggests a small amount. The word usually suggests a meager amount, and can refer to anything that is barely sufficient. Someone trying to stretch a meal might offer scanty servings. On a humorous note, a Roaring Twenties flapper referred to her underwear as scanties.
Vocabulary lists containing scanty
On the Origin of Species
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The Bridge Home
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"Declaration of Sentiments," Vocabulary from the public document
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Reliable data is scanty, but experts point to a 2009 government estimate of an export "capacity" of 800 tonnes -- enough to make the trade highly lucrative.
From Barron's • Nov. 18, 2025
While a few successful experiments had been reported by hobbyists in Australia and Germany, details were scanty.
From Slate • Aug. 19, 2025
The burials had scanty grave goods—a bead and a dog paw—so it’s hard to connect them to any particular material culture.
From Science Magazine • Jun. 19, 2024
The slight and scanty “Drive-Away Dolls” could dissipate with a gust of wind, but it beats a hasty getaway before that becomes a problem.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 21, 2024
We stopped only long enough to sell our scanty harvest to a buy boat along the way and then headed straight for Rass.
From "Jacob Have I Loved" by Katherine Paterson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
